• Main Street Center as a model for sprawl retrofit

    Suburban areas in need of transformation often lack an oversight organization to join, providing a network of support.
    Note: This document is one of a series of tools created for Build a Better Burb, the Hub for Great Suburban Design. The Build a Better Burb website has been recently updated by CNU. The Problem Suburban areas in need of transformation often lack an oversight organization to join, providing a...Read more

  • Preservation and urbanism go hand in hand

    Historic buildings create the kind of character and vitality that makes older communities perform well economically, socially, and environmentally—and that is the central thesis of a new book.
    Note: This article is part of a collaboration between Island Press and Public Square on a series of articles based on recently published books on subjects related to urbanism. A definitive book on the enormous impact of historic preservation on cities and towns in the last half century came out...Read more

  • What is a livable community, anyway?

    A walkable community is the most common term to describe the alternative to drive-only suburbia. Yet walking is so basic to human life that we often take it for granted. Perhaps a more inspiring term is livability.
    A walkable community is the most common term to describe the alternative to drive-only suburbia. Yet walking is so basic to human life that we often take it for granted. Perhaps a more inspiring term is livability. Former US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood defined livability as "a community...Read more

  • A sidewalk to connect our fractured nation

    It's easy to divide the country into those who have sidewalks, and vote one way, and those who do not, and vote another way. Yet sidewalks, and all they symbolize, are gaining political recognition.
    Nate Silver, the celebrated election prognosticator, Tweeted during the 2012 presidential race: "Heuristic: if a place has sidewalks, it votes Democratic. Otherwise, it votes Republican." Nate Silver is an astute analyst, and his observation mostly rings true in 2016. The presence of sidewalks is a...Read more